Articulated overhead door



June 23, 1936. D. M. ROBINSON 2,045,101

ARTICULATED OVERHEAD DooR Filed Sept. 3, 1932 4 Smets-sheet 1 amilo@ DaVidMEobl'mon aum-n.11 i

June 23, 1936. D. M. RoBlNsoN 2,045,101

ARTICULTED OVERHEAD DOOR Filed Sept. 3, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 *aI/ia. MRobl'zwon June 23, 1936. D. M. ROBINSON ARTICULATED OVERHEAD DOOR.

Filed sept. 5, 1952 v 4 sheets-sheet 5 Robinson VPF Filed Sept. 3, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 aw'd Mkobnson June 23,1936.

o 9 vll/ll/l l/ E 7 5i fd- Q Patented June 23, I 1936 ARTICULATED OVERHEAD DOOR David M. Robinson, New Britain, Conn., assigner to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application'September 3, 1932, Serial No. 631,635

7 Claims.

This invention relates to doors, and particularly relates to doors of the type having a plurality of articulated panels or sections and adapted to be moved from a closed vertical position in the doorway to an open overhead and generally horizontal position. As an instance of a use to which doors constructed in accordance with the present invention may be applied, reference may be had to automobile garages, but itis to be understood that my improvements are not limited to that specific application, the improved structure being applicable to pier sheds, factories, et cetera.

An aim of the invention is to provide an improved and simplied door of this character which l5 is economical in construction, which may be quickly and easily installed, and which is efilcient and durable in use.

A further aim of the invention is to provide an articulated door which, while being rugged and durable in construction, may be very easily operated; that is, readily raised and lowered with a minimum amount of eiort.

Other objects of the invention are to provide, in a door of this sort, improved means for bringing the upper panel or section to closed position when the door is lowered; to provide an improved arrangement at small additional expense for retarding or snubbing the movement of the door as it approaches its full open position in order t0 eliminate shocks and jars; and to provide an improved counterbalancing arrangement which ma be nicely adjusted.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement o1' parts which will be exemplifled in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown, for illustrative purposes, one embodiment which the present invention Amay take,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view oi.' the inside or rear of the door in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of one side of the arrangement, the door being shown in vertical section, this view being taken substantially on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the arrangement, certain parts being omitted;

Fig. 4 is a detail view in top plan of one oi the track braces and parts'associated therewith;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of what is shown 55 in F18. 4,;

(Cl. 2li-20) Fig. 6 is a detail view showing, in elevation, an edge of the lower panel of the door and the manner in which one of the extension springs is anchored at its lower end;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the arrangement i'or swinging the upper panel against the door jamb when the door is brought to closed position; and

Fig. 8 is a rear view of what is shown in Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein so much of a garage or other structure as is necessary to illustrate one application of the invention, the structure having a doorway of suit-I able size provided with a frame which comprises two side posts P and a top lintel L. The door, designated generally bythe letter D, comprises a plurality of transversely extending panels or sections I0 oi' any suitable number and hingedly connected together alongtheir adjacent longitudinal4 edges. The hinges for pivotally connecting the sections together may take any suitable form, they being designated by the numeral Il. In the present instance, the pintles .I2 of the hinges at each side of the door extend beyond the marginal edge of ,the door and carry suitable rollers I3. These rollers are adapted to travel in suitable tracks I4, there being two tracks, one at either side of the door opening. Adjacent each lower corner of the lowermost panel is iixed a bracket 8 which carries a pin on which a roller 9 is Journalied.

Each oi' the tracks has a vertically extending portion suitably secured to the rear face oi a post P, as by means of track plates l5, a horizontal portion extending rearwardly in a plane adjacent the top of the doorway, and a curved portion connecting the upper end of the vertical portion and the forward end of the horizontal portion. The tracks, adjacent their rear ends, are connected together by a cross brace or angle iron I6, and the overhead structure may be further braced by diagonally extending rods I'l in which are interposed suitable turnbuckle bodies I8. The rear end of the overhead structure may be supported inany suitable manner as by means of chains I9 (see Fig. 2)'. As shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 5, thev forward end of the horizontal track section and the upper end oi' the curved track section are secured,as by means of bolts or rivets, to a track brace 20 which, in turn, is connected to a bracket 2| secured, as by means of screws 22, to a post P at a point above the top of the door opening. The brace 20 may be secured to theV bracket 2| in any suitable manner, as by means of rivets 23. 'I'he brace 20 is provided with an ear 24 and the bracket 2| is p rovided with another ear 25 and between these ears is positioned a pulley wheel 26, the same being journalled on a bolt 21. This wheel is positioned forwardly of the horizontal section of the track and ina plane parallel to the plane oi the door opening. Secured to each brace is an upper cable clip 28 having a sleeve portion 29. Also carried by each brace is a roller 30 which is disposed to the inside of the vertical plane of the track and at a position below the inside edge of the pulley wheel. The purpose of these rollers will be described later. They are journalled on bolts 3|.

As the door is moved from its full closed position to an overhead position, the panels successively move into position where they are supported by the overhead horizontal track portion so that the effective weight of the door gradually decreases and, when the door is moved from open to closed position, the reverse is true. In order to nicely counterbalance the door, there are provided two springs, preferably located one at each side of the doorway. The counterbalancing arrangements on the opposite sides of the doorway are similar in construction and, therefor, a description oi.' one will apply to the other. The extension spring, designated by the numeral 35, is vertically disposed behind the post P and is in the form of a coil the lower end of which is connected to an anchor bracket 36 which, in turn, is connected to the lowermost track plate I5, as shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 6. The upper end of the spring is adjustably connected, as hereinafter described more in detail, to a shackle 31 the upper end oi which is pivoted to the lower end of a sheave body 3l in which is iournalled a pulley wheel I! under which passes a cable or rope 40..

One end of this cable is anchored to the upper cable clip 26, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In the present instance, the upper end o! the cable has secured to it a threaded member or screw 4| which extends through the knuckle 29 and the upper end oi' this screw receives the nuts l2. 'Ihe opposite or lower end of the cable is connected in a similar manner, (see Figs. 1 and 6) to a clip 43 secured to the lowermost panel o! the door adjacent the lower corner thereof. The lower end of the cable is anchored to this clip by means of a nut 4l. It will be seen from the drawings that each rope passes u nder the wheel of the traveling sheave, then over the ilxed pulley wheel 26, and then downwardly to the lower edge of the door, to which it is anchored. The vertical run of the cable between the door and the fixed pulley is closely adjacent or tangential to the periphery ot the roller Ill.

For the purpose of adjusting the counterbalancing arrangement, either the effective length of the spring or the tension of the eiIective length oi the spring may be adjusted. To adjust or vary the effective length of the spring, the shackle 31 is adjustably associated with the upper end oi' the spring. In the present instance, this shackle is in the form of an inverted T-shaped member the head of which is provided with openings through which the coil is threaded, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. By turning the shackle relative to the spring about the axis of the latter, the

shackle is screwed onto the spring a. greater or less distance, depending upon the direction in which it is turned. In Fig. 5, the shackle is shown as being screwed onto the spring as far as it will go, there being provided on the stem of the shackle a stop I6 in order to guard against the spring. being shortened to such a great extent that its eiliciency is impaired. In order to adjust the tension of the effective length of the spring, the length of the cable may be adjusted by turning up either the bolts 42 on the upper end of the cable or the nut 44 on the lower end of the cable.

It will be observed, from the drawings, that the curved portion of the track starts from a point below the top of the door opening. In order to swing the topmost panel forwardly into closed position and against the door frame as the door completes its closing movement, and in order to swing the upper panel away from the door frame on initial upward movement of the door, there is provided, adjacent each side edge of the upper panel, va cam and a xed stud or pin adapted to cooperate therewith. The cams at the opposite sides of the top panel are similar in construction, and a description of one will apply to the other. Each of these cams is adjustably connected to the top Vpanel so as to accommodate panels of various heights and thicknesses. Each cam has a pair of cam members or surfaces between which is a cam groove which is curved upwardly and rearwardly with respect to the plane of the top panel when the latter is closed. In the present illustrative disclosure of the invention, the cam is shown as having been formed of two pieces of rolled metal cut and bent to form. The iront cam member, designated by the numeral 66, has a turned-up ilange 60' at one edge, and the rear or outer cam member, designated by the numeral 6|, has a ange 6|' -to which the other ange 60 is secured, as by means of spot welding. Between the cam members and 6| is a cam groove or channel 62 which is open at im lower end and at the side oi the door. The lower end of the rear wall 6| of the cam is bent or curved rearwardly,

as at 63, so as to insure that the stud 10 will properly ride into' the cam groove when the door' is brought to closed position. This stud or ilxed pin 10 is here shown as being carried by a plate or bracket 1| adjustably connected, as by means of bolts 12, to the track. These bolts extend through elongated openings 12' in the bracket so as to allow adjustment of the stud. It will be observed that the stud is horizontally disposed in a plane parallel to the door opening, and its free end extends inwardly towards the center of the door opening. In order that cam devices oi F like construction may be used in connection with articulated doors having panels of varying heights and diil'erent thicknesses, the cams cooperating with the stud 10 are adlustably secured to the upper panel, as shown most clearly in Figs. 7 and 8. It will be seen from these figures that the cam is pivotally connected, as by means of a pin or pintle 64, to a cam bracket 65, the latter having a base 66 secured by screws 61 to the rear face of Vthe top panel.. Extending rearwardly from one edge of this base is a ange 88 through which the pintle 64 extends. This flange has an arcuate slot 69 the center of curvature of which is coincident with the pintle 64. This slot 69 accommodates the stem of a bolt 69 carried by the flanges of the cam. By changing the position of the bolt 69' in the slot 6U, the angular relation between the cam and the plane of the top panel may be varied to suit conditions in the particular installation.

For the purpose of supporting the upper end o! the uppermost panel when the door is moved to horizontal position, there is provided adjacent each side edge of the upper panel, a pivoted arm 15 to the upper free end of which is x'ed a pin V journalled a roller 'I8 adapted to travel in the track. In the present instance, the lower end of the arm is shown as being hinged on a plntle 'I9 supported by the flange 68 and a second flange 80 on the cam bracket 65.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be observed that when it is desired to open the door to its raised position, it may be given an upward pull and then the spring will automatically complete the opening movement of the door. As the door starts to rise, the outer cam members 6| will wipe along the p'ms 10, thus causing the upper end of the uppermost panel to swing rearwardly until the door has been raised to such position that the pin leaves the cam groove 62. When the door has been raised to such an extent that the upper panel is horizontally disposed, the normally upper portion of that panel is supported on the pivoted arms 'l5 and the free .ends of these arms are, of course, supported by the tracks through the rollers i8. As the door rises, the traveling sheave, under the tensionv of the extension springs, will move downwardly so ythat the force of the springs will gradually decrease as the successive panels .ride onto the horizontal portions of the tracks. If the door is brought to full open position with more force than is necessary, those portions of the cables in front of the stationary rollers will be brought against thosev rollers so that the movement of the door is snubbed, so to speak, and this snubbing action is taken up by the extension springs which thus act as buffers. Thus the strains and stresses which would result if the door were 11 on which is thrown to full open position against fixed stopsv are taken care of by the tension springs themselves without the expense of providing separate buffers or snubbers.. The rollers 30 also pre- -vent the cables from being pulled from the fixed pulleys when the door is thrown to full open position. To lower the door, the forward edge thereof is moved forwardly and pulled downwardly and, after the door has started, it will automatically move to practically closed position, further downward movement of the door being taken care of by the extension springs. As the door approaches its closed position, the cam devices will ride into operative relation to the xed pins 1li and the front cam members 60 will wipe along these pins, thereby causing the upper end of the upper panel to swing forwardly and against the door jamb or frame.

It will further be seen from the foregoing description, that, in accordance with the present invention, there is-provided an improved articulated overhe`ad door arrangement which is characterized by its simplicity, economy, ruggedness,

and durability in construction and arrangement, by the ease and facility with which the parts may be assembled and adjusted, and by its electiveness in operation, thev door being movable to open and closed position with safety and with but little effort on the part of the operator.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also'to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the in- 'vention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an overhead tracks each having a vertical section, a horizontal section and a curved connecting portion; an articulated door comprising a plurality of hingedly connected sections guided by said tracks and movable from a vertical closed position to an overhead and generally horizontal position; and counterbalancing means at each side of the door, each of said counterbalancing means including a fixed overhead pulley, a cable anchored at its upper end and passing over said pulley and connected at its other end to the lower end of the door, said cable having a depending loop betweenv its anchored upper end and said pulley, a traveling sheave supported by said'loop,4 a coiled tension spring having one end adjustably connected to said traveling sheave and its other end fixed adjacent -the lower end of the track, means for adjusting the length of said cable to vregulate the operative spring tension, and means associated with said sheave for selectively engaging the various coils of 'said spring to regulate v the ellective length thereof.

2. In an overhead door construction, a pair of tracks each'having a vertical section, a horizontal section and a curved connecting portion; an articulated door comprising a plurality of hingedly connected sections guided by said tracks and movable from a vertical closed position to an overhead and generally horizontal position; and counterbalancing means at each side of the door, each of said counterbalancing means including a xed overhead pulley, a cable anchored at its upper end and passing over said pulley and door construction, a pair of connected at its other `end to the lower end oi".` the door, said cable having a depending loop 40 between its anchored upper end and said pulley, a traveling vsheave supported by said loop, a.'

coiled tension spring anchored at its lower endI adjacent the lower end of the track, and a shackle pivotally connected to said traveling .15

sheave and adapted to be screwed varying extents into the coils of the spring whereby the operative length of the spring may be regulated as required.

and counterbalancing means at each side of the door, each counterbalancing means including a.

fixed pulley positioned forwardly of the horizontal section of the track and disposed in a plane'parallel to the plane of the doorv opening, a cable secured at one end to the door adjacent the lower end of the latter and passing over said pulley, an extension spring associated at one end with said cable and fixed at its other end, and a ilxed roller immediately below the point at which the cable passes onto said pulley, said roller being positioned behind said cable and arranged so that when the door is thrown to full open position said cable will engage thereagainst and'said extension springs will act as buiers.

4. In an overhead door construction, a pair of tracks each having a vertical section, a horizontal section and a curved connecting portion;

hinged sections guided by said tracks and movable from a vertical closed position to an overhead and generally horizontal position; a cam device adjacent each side edge of the upper panel and rigidly xed on the rear face thereof, each of said cam devices comprising an inner cam member and an outer cam member, the cam groove therebetween being curved upwardly and rearwardly, said cam groove being open at its lower end, and a pair of fixed studs one for each cam device, said studs being adapted to engage in the respective cam grooves when the door is closed.

5. In an overhead door construction, a pair oi tracks each having a vertical section, a horizontal section, and a curved connecting portion; an articulated door comprising a plurality of hingedly connected sections guided by said tracks and movable from a vertical closed position to an overhead and generally horizontal position; a cam adjacent one side edge of the upper panel and rigidly mounted'to the rear face thereof, said cam having a cam groove curved upwardly and rearwardly, means for adjustably securing said carn to the top panel, and a xed stud adapted to be received by said cam groove when the door is moved to closed position whereby the upper panel is swung towards the door opening.

6. In an overhead door construction, a pair oi tracks each having a vertical section, a horizontal section, and a curved connecting portion; an articulated door comprising a plurality of hingedly connected sections guided by said tracks and movable from a vertical closed position to an overhead and generally horizontal position; a cam adjacent one side edge of the upper panel and mounted 'to the rear face thereof, said cam having a cam groove curved upwardly and rearwardly, means for pivotally mounting said cam whereby the same may be angularly adjusted relative to the top panel, means for securing said carn in adjusted positions and against movement relative to the door, and a fixed stud adapted to be received by the cam groove when the door is lowered, whereby said upper panel is swung to closed position against the door frame.

7. In an overhead door construction, a pair oi tracks each having a vertical section, a horizontal section, and a curved connecting portion; an articulated door comprising a, plurality of hingedly connected sections guided by said tracks and movable from a vertical closed position to an overhead and generally horizontal position; a cam adjacent one side edge of the upper panel and mounted to-the rear face thereof, said cam having a cam groove curved upwardly and rearwardly, a cam bracket secured to the rear face of the upper panel, a pivot pin connecting said cam to said bracket, said bracket having an arcuate slot,'a bolt carried by said cam extending through said slot whereby said cam may be secured in adjusted position relative to the top panel, a fixed stud adapted to engage in said cam groove when the door is closed, an arm pivoted to said bracket, and a roller carried by the upper free end of said arm and traveling in the associated track.

DAVID M. ROBINSON. 

